The Gods of Mt Olympus and the Flames of Hades
by trapt-tage
Summary: Twopart to Elena of the Turks. Elena looks back on her first day as a Turk, and her first experiences with the men Rude and Reno. Second in a series. Can stand alone.
1. The Gods of Mt Olympus and the Flames o

AN: This has mutated from a one-shot to a two-part, instead. So this _does_ have two chapters. (Yeah I know, that's a real mind-boggler, me having a story with more than one chapter...)

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The Gods of Mt. Olympus and the Flames of Hades

I remember I used to come home from school (I took day classes at a local college campus), and look out my apartment window up at the ShinRa building, standing tall in the sky. Yes, I did live above the plate. I had heard some nasty tales of what life below was like, and I am still grateful that I never had to experience it. But that big steel tower represented so much strength and honor, especially back then, right after they'd won the war. It was like the mythical castle, with the tower that reached the clouds. That was the Mt. Olympus of reality.

I made it my business to get a spot in that tower, and as soon as I graduated, I started applying. It was a hellish few months- having to be a barmaid in order to sustain myself, and still sending out more and more applications into any department possible in that organization. I was working with drunks by night, typing resumes by day, and sleeping as long as I could in dawn and twilight. I figured that as soon as I got that job, it would make up for all of the missed sun-ups and sunsets.

And suddenly, I got the job, like I had been praying for. The day before the plate fell.

I can clearly remember the notification letter that I received. It said:

"_We would like to inform you that, due to extenuating circumstances, the extemporaneous need has arisen for a temporary replacement; though due to performance and/or excellence while in office, you may or may not remain as a permanent asset. You have been hired to the Department of Domestic Affairs Containment, otherwise known as the Turks. Welcome to ShinRa Electric Power_."

I had never heard of 'the Turks' before, so that didn't bother me, but an "_extemporaneous need due to an extenuating circumstance?" _What the Hell did that mean? I figured out later that it meant "since one of our guys is destroying the Sector Plate, we're gonna give him leave and you're gonna fill his shoes." And that's what they did. Now, before my first day, I can say that I did a few minutes worth of quick research and found out that the group I was to be working as a part of wasn't the nicest bunch of people, but hey, I had had a hand in a war before this, I think I can deal with people a little less than clean.

The day I arrived at work for the first time, I met my direct superiors - the other members of the Turks. The first thing in the morning, I was introduced to two of my three co-workers. The third had been off on a mission, and so I didn't meet until later, but I figured that was all right, seeing as the two men I met were already enough to have to take in at once.

I met Tseng first, and I can't say that I didn't fancy him from the start (though the fact that he was Wutain did throw me off slightly at first). He was calm and collected, and I swear he seemed to know everything. He presented himself with great amounts of dignity, and even his dark blue suit gained more respect than I think I had ever given or _been_ given in my life. Being in his silent office and having to act more professional than I had ever felt made me all the more nervous, and I think I stuttered a few too many times to chalk it off as the butterflies.

Rude, the 'partner' to this missing third Turk, seemed…well, quiet. I don't know if he just preferred silence, or if he wa just one of those guys who liked to listen instead of talk, so I talked on about how excited I was, and I couldn't really tell whether he was listening, or if he wanted to shut me out. In fact, I still can't tell. He really didn't seem to take to using facial expressions either, I think.. He was rather stiff, not really what I'd call 'Mr. Personality,' and he wasn't really what you'd call 'entertaining,' but then again, what else do guys with no personality become but Turks?

I had been told about the missing third Turk - Reno - and that he was the one that I had been hired to temporarily fill in for. Tseng, who was the leader and the top of the chain, told me that I would have to take Reno's place, but since Rude was technically 'better' than me, I wouldn't keep Reno's rank of second-in-command. Damn. My meeting with the famed Reno only came later.

The rest of the day wasn't anything worth living really, now that I think about it. I had been so worked up in getting a job this great that I had to try my hardest not to squeal every time they pointed something in the office out to me. In my euphoric state, I took in every detail - from the smooth sound of Tseng's voice to the color of the men's bathroom wallpaper - as if they would pop my happiness bubble and demand a quiz of what I had learned.

And that was that. I had gotten the job, and I had successfully gone through my orientation without seeming like I was _too_ giddy. I think I actually made it out alive and almost accepted! They had said that tomorrow morning I would meet Reno, and then right after, I would be charged with filling his void as he was shipped out to vacation-land. Tseng had even promised that the first thing I would do was receive my _own_ blue suit. My eyes were wide and watering and I had wanted to hug the man at the words. I almost did when I actually got the suit.

Then I met Reno. We didn't become the best of friends right off. I definitely liked Tseng better. Reno was a hot-head. He wasunruly and a bit of a reactor. I was glad when he left…and then Tseng told me where Reno was going, and why he was going to be put on vacation afterwards. I swear, I stared at Tseng for a full two minutes before I could even fully accept what he had just said. He had said that Reno's mission was to drop one of the sector plates…and kill _thousands_ of people. To _wipe out _1/8 of the cities population! Then he informed me that he himself would also be going out on a _kidnapping_ mission later that evening. I wasn't prepared for any of that. When I did my research on who or what 'the Turks' were, all people would tell me was that I should stay away from them, that they were bad. But everyone in Midgar hates the ShinRa, how was I supposed to know that the were really, _really_ serious when they told me the Turks could eat babies and not care? I thought that was just more ShinRa slander! I didn't realize that the men I was to be working with were really rumored to have no hearts.

After that, I got the jitters all over again.But this time, it wasn't like it was newbie jitters, like I was fresh in the office (even though I was), it was the jitters you get when you're about to do something terrible. Like when you've just committed yourself to something that is horribly, horribly _wrong_.

Tseng said that, for experience's sake, I was going to ride with Reno to the plate column in the helicopter. After that I would come back to the ShinRa Headquarters as backup incase something goes awry, even though I wasn't technically supposed to start work until after Reno's job was completed. So I climbed in the chopper, took a seat next to Reno, and tried not to stutter on _every _word as we ascended.

It was about the time that I got back to the ShinRa building that I got the call saying that Reno had hit the button and was on the return trip. They said I wouldn't be needed as back-up, after all. After that I didn't really hear anything. Rude had walked up next to me at the window, but I hadn't heard him. If he had returned, then I guessed that Tseng was done with his kidnapping, and that he wasn't in need of the back-up from Rude anymore. But I didn't reallythink about that. Instead, we stood and watched as countless people died in under crushing steel and flames that ate up the sky almost as high as the ShinRa building itself. And that was that. Job over; mission complete. _People dead_.

I nearly cried. But I had learned before that crying doesn't help, so I held in my tears as best I could as Rude stood behind me just staring. I'm not sure if he was disturbed by the sight outside of the window as well, but was just better at hiding it that I was, or if he was simply staring at my back, judging me and how I coped with missions. At the time I didn't care. At the time, I was afraid. And that tall silent statue of a man had been the only person there with me. I'm not sure if he had come to see the damage for himself, or if he had truly come to check-up on me, but either way, he was the only one there with me. Or for me. Either or, in my eyes. I'm not sure it made a difference.

Reno came up later, but he only stayed for a few seconds. I can't say that it was a comfort having him there anyway. The atmosphere...changed. I think he realized his effect. So he limped off again, and it was simply Rude and I alone with the Hellfire outside, separated from us by only the glass.

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AN: And on to part two! 


	2. Initiation Process

AN: Does anyone know how to get the asterisk symbol, or the equals symbol to show up in the text once you submit a chapter to The formatting is driving me nuts and not letting me do it.

Discliamer: I don't onw FFVII.

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Initiation Procedures

I came into the Turks as bright and cheery as could be, and, wouldn't you know it, that was the mood I was in when I got to hear about how the plate was going to be somewhat _destroyed_. Well…at least I hadn't started out in a depressed mood.

I was hired the day before the collapse of the Sector 7 plate column, and I got my first mission the very next day. They told me that my job would be to take over for one of the current Turks while he on vacation. Or at least, that was the simplified version of it…the official notice said something about _extemporaneous circumstances_, or something. I remember that the whole first day as kind of a buzz, but that I focused as much as I could on what Tseng said to me. I met Tseng, I met Rude, I got a suit, I got a gun, I got shades, and then I met _Reno_….

All Tseng had told me was 'He's on a mission; you probably won't meet him until…later.' Honestly, it didn't seem like he'd be that hard to replace.

Tseng had just been about to release me to go home for the night, when the doors were flung open and in came a mess on legs, with the same blue suit on as the brand new one I held in my hands, only his was…_crumpled_.

He came in and started raving to Tseng about what I presumed to be his last mission - which by the sounds of it - he failed.

"She's got a new toy, Tseng! I fuckin' blondie bodyguard!" He had yelled. I tried not to take the blondie thing to heart.

I don't remember the whole conversation, but I remember it was something about something ancient and a bodyguard. Whatever. It was only after their conversation that Reno actually noticed my presence. If I'm right - which knowing what I know about Reno now, I think I am - he had been muttering something along the lines of "…size of his sword…only overcompensation for the size of Oh, who are you?"

I believe my next statement was somewhat of a mistake, as the reaction I got from Tseng was simply silence and a bowed head, while the response from Reno was:

"Woman, I don't care who you are, but you're holding a blue suit. That makes you a Turk. Turk, you don't use the word 'replace' until one of us is either worm food or standing in front of a firing squad waiting for the whistle. And yes, I did just refer to you using a sexist feminine pronoun. Live with it."

Oops. Ya'know, I never did learn what got Reno all up in arms about me saying that I'd be _replacing _him. Maybe it was a blow to his ego or something.

The next time I saw Reno, we were in a helicopter. I was just a passenger, but I was still there when he was dropped off on the Sector 7 Pillar Column. He had looked deep in thought, so I stopped trying to lessen the mood with mindless chatter when I figured out that it wasn't working. I was also starting to realize what those _extenuating circumstances_ were. A man was being paid to murder thousands of people - blame on him or no - and he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. Yeah, I'd need a break after that too.

The pilot took me back to the Shin-Ra headquarters, and he dropped me off there. I was to wait to receive either a call for back-up from Reno, or a call of confirmation that Reno's mission had been a success. I dearly hoped for the latter. For some reason, I didn't feel as confident that night as I did that morning. When I thought about the consequences of what we were doing, my head started to hurt. It wasn't from confusion. It was guilt. And astonishment. And shame. It was then that I realized the job of a Turk. Turks can discard emotions faster than they can discard cards. They don't question motive, they don't question ethnics; they don't question _why_, they just do. That man was out there killing because he didn't have the backbone to say 'no'. Or perhaps he was killing because he was brave and strong enough to do it and be prepared to live with the guilt on his mind. When you think about it like that, it's still not really a valiant deed, but that man must be awfully strong to take on a burden like that. He was stronger than me, that was for sure. So yeah, maybe I could role-play as a Turk for a little bit, but to fully _replace_ 'mass murderer Reno'? That was asking a lot.

I'm sure that over time I would have matured to the same level though, if I worked at it as long as Reno had. It must come with the job. Once you make your first hit, it gets easier, right? It's not as hard to sin once you've done it before, right? It's not as hard to sin when you do it without thinking, right?

When that plate fell, I was standing on the 68th floor of the Shin-Ra headquarters, staring out a window at it. I saw that giant mass of steel slowly go crashing down like a metal tidal wave. The sound was hideous, and the flames were unbelievably high. Right after the first explosion, I caught myself edging back from the Plexiglas window. I felt a little like a coward for being afraid of the aftermath, when my co-worker had been the one out there _causing _it.

Rude came up a few minutes later, and we just kind of…stood there. He was silent, and I wasn't sure what to say or what to think, so neither of us said anything at all. We just stood there watching Reno's mess burn itself out and ignite all over again. It was almost as if, anytime one fire went out, another appeared. I got a little self-conscious after a few minutes of standing there, and I started to wonder if I really did look any good in that blue suit. I almost got to wondering if I really had any _right_ to be in that suit, but I was caught by Reno's entrance. Actually, I didn't really notice Reno's entrance that much, I was too busy staring at the blaze, but heard what he said when he walked up behind Rude and I.

He said that his apartment had been on the Sector 7 plate. He asked if he could room with one of us. Yes, Reno had imploded his own home. I don't know if he had been forbidden to go back before the mission, or if he had just never owned very much to begin with, but he didn't bring too much stuff when he moved in with me. That's right I said yes, that he could live with me until he found somewhere new, or at least until his wounds healed. When I asked him about his little amount of belongings, he just said that all the _real_ important things he had left _below_ the plate. Sometimes I think there're things that that guy doesn't tell the rest of us. I don't know what he meant when he said that, but I'm sure it meant something.

But about that night, right before I went home with Reno, and right after Reno limped off away from Rude and me, I had a conversation with Rude. It was…nearly the most I've ever heard him say, to this day.

I had thought it unfortunate that Reno would get so badly injured that he couldn't work, when he was to be given a break anyway. When I voiced my thoughts, Rude laughed. Well, really he just chuckled quietly to himself, before he replied. He was still looking out the window (he still had his shades down, but I got the feeling he was looking out over the gap in the city).

"They _never_ would have given him a break just for finishing the job; that was a requirement. They only give us breaks every so many _years_…so you could say that we kind of…_expected_ Reno to get a little bruised up." So that's it. That's why I was a temp. That was the _extemporaneous need_.

Reno had _knowingly_ blown up his own home, massacred hundreds of innocent people, _and_ put himself in harm's way, expecting to take a beating. No…there was no way in Hell that I would ever _fully_ be able to replace the demon of a man that is Reno the Turk. Or maybe he was a Turk of a man. What's worse?

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AN: Well, that's done, and I am having a _wonderful_ Spring Break (all of five days of it…). I didn't add killing his sister to that list of accomplishments for Reno, but that story's already been told, so I don't have to worry. And Ducky, I hope you picked up my NOT-SO-SUBLIMINAL 'replacement' hints. I figure nobody but perhaps you has followed this whole thing out as far as it is, so I'm thinkingthat you may be the only one that really understood everything. -t-t


End file.
